Join Joe Buck and Dom Scurr as they discuss Sandro Tonali's latest injury setback, Newcastle United's beginning to the season and assess how the squad stands ahead of their much anticipated return to the Champions League.
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00:38 Hello everyone and welcome back to the Mouth of Time podcast brought to you by
00:42 The Shields Gazette. I'm Dominic Skirr, joined as ever by Joe Buck to discuss
00:46 everything surrounding Newcastle United at the moment. It's been quite slow
00:50 with the international break but plenty of Newcastle's players have been in
00:54 action and there's still plenty to talk about looking ahead to the return of
00:59 Premier League action as well as the Champions League to come. So first of all,
01:02 Joe, it's been a while since our last podcast but how are you doing?
01:06 Yeah, I'm doing good, thanks. I'm much like you, I'm so ready for Newcastle to
01:11 come back. I think international breaks are not ideal at the best of times and
01:16 on the back of three defeats in a row, there's nothing really, as I say, Newcastle,
01:20 you just want to get the games back, don't you? And as I say, with Champions League
01:23 coming, they're going to be coming thick and fast. So I think me, you and much of
01:26 everyone else is just ready for the return of club football.
01:30 Yeah, yeah. It was a frustrating sort of, been a frustrating start to the season
01:34 really after we spoke last time. The highs of that Aston Villa game and you're
01:39 thinking, 'Wow, the sky's the limit for Newcastle' but very quickly brought back
01:43 down to earth. The Man City defeat, you sort of half expect Newcastle have lost,
01:49 I think, 14 in a row there now. The Liverpool one, particularly hard to take
01:53 and then the Brighton one just sort of rubbed salt into the wounds. So, yeah,
01:57 what have you made of Newcastle's start to the season in general, really?
02:02 I think, pretty much as you say, I think it was obviously such a high start and
02:07 everyone's elated, everyone's thinking, 'Right, this is it, Newcastle are back'
02:10 and then, you know, as you say, back down to earth with them three defeats.
02:13 They are disappointed, there's no getting away from that. Eddie Howell will be
02:17 disappointed, he's said on numerous occasions he's been disappointed. I think
02:20 the ones that will hurt will be the Liverpool and the manner of that Liverpool
02:24 defeat and then I think the manner of the Brighton defeat as well. We knew it was
02:27 going to be a difficult game going down to Brighton but they just never seemed to,
02:30 other than the first 10, 15 minutes, that was it. Brighton took control and they
02:33 never really looked like getting back into it. I think the panic maybe from some
02:39 fans is maybe a bit over the top and I think any worries that Newcastle won't
02:44 be back up to the levels they were last year, I think they will be. I think you've
02:48 got to remember that it's been such a tough start to play Liverpool, Man City
02:51 and Brighton and Aston Villa. It's a tough start and if you look at the results
02:55 last year, they were only one point below in the corresponding games last year.
02:59 So you think about that and you think, well, it has been a difficult start. It's
03:04 been a shame that they've been beaten three times already, they only lost five
03:08 games last year but I think it just makes Brentford massive on Saturday. I think
03:12 if they can get back on Saturday and they can have a win and a statement win as
03:16 well, a bit like that Villa game, I think everyone's concerns will just go and
03:19 everyone will be right. That was just a blip, hopefully just a blip and that they
03:23 get back to playing, back to the football we saw against Villa because they were
03:26 untouchable at times that game.
03:28 Yes, it was always going to be a really tough start to the season. Like you say,
03:32 I don't think Newcastle could have asked for a more difficult start to the season
03:36 without raising some serious questions to the Premier League. But yes, Brentford,
03:42 it doesn't get much easier. Brentford again, finished in the top half last season.
03:46 Tricky opponents. As much as Newcastle did beat Brentford twice last season and
03:55 beat them, I think, 5-1 in this fixture at St James' Park last year, I think they
04:00 have given them a game twice for me. I think up until the 60-minute mark at St
04:05 James' Park, it was similar to the Villa game, first game of the season, it was a
04:10 close contest. Brentford had an early goal disallowed. So, they'll be another
04:14 tough opponent for Newcastle this weekend.
04:17 Absolutely, they will be. I think you're right, Brentford are one of those teams
04:20 you don't want to play at any point really. I think the only thing going in Newcastle's
04:23 favour is probably the Ivan Toni factor. He loves a goal against Newcastle and I
04:27 think him not being there, I know Brentford have coped well so far this season
04:30 without him, but I just think him not being there, he seems to play a little bit
04:33 extra, put that little bit more in when he's against Newcastle, it seems that way
04:37 anyway. So, I think him not being there will be a big miss for Brentford. As you
04:41 say, if they can get a win, it will be a big statement that they're back. We've
04:45 seen Newcastle a couple of times last year come back from setbacks and really put
04:50 in statement performances. You think back to that Spurs one back in April, they'd
04:53 just been beat by Villa 3-0 and everyone's a bit, how are they going to get on? And
04:57 then all of a sudden, well, we all know what happened that game in the games
05:00 around that. So, yeah, it's going to be a big test for any team on Saturday, but I
05:06 think they've got the quality to do it. They've just got to get that mentality and
05:09 hopefully the crowd will be behind them. And if it does start off slow, like that
05:12 game, like this fixture last year, the crowd sticks with them because they're
05:15 going to need that because, as you say, Brentford are a really tough game.
05:19 It's going to be important. And then another important thing is who Newcastle
05:25 will have a bit available for that game. The international break, we've seen a
05:29 couple of injuries. Elliot Anderson's withdrawn from the Scotland squad.
05:32 Sandro Ternali missed out on Italy's Euro 2024 qualifier last night.
05:38 Both due to injuries. Sven Botman's obviously been out with an ankle issue
05:42 and then you've got the longer term issues with Emile Kraft and Joe Willock.
05:46 So, what do you make of the injury situation going into the game? And do you
05:52 think it's realistic to expect any of these players to be back in the squad and
05:56 start this weekend?
05:57 I would like to hope so. I think my main concern is the middle of the park. I
06:01 think, as you say, with Willock obviously being injured, he's probably going to be
06:04 out until the next international break. So, you know, you forget about him for the
06:07 next few weeks. You've got Ternali, as you say. And then you've even got players
06:11 like Bruno and Joel Linton who are coming back from Brazil. You know, they're
06:13 only going to get, or they're, you know, they're coming back today so they're
06:16 only going to have maybe one or two days training with the group. Now, you know,
06:19 there's no worries about them not knowing what they're doing, what their roles
06:22 are. But that's, you know, that kind of travelling and that, you know, their
06:25 games are going to take its toll. So, I am a little bit concerned about the middle
06:28 of the park. I think you've, it's one of them ones where I think Eddie Howe will
06:32 probably go with Sean Longstaff for me. I think he's had a couple of weeks in
06:36 that, you know, in training. And for me, I think there's no point risking Ternali
06:42 or either of the Brazilians if either they're, you know, fatigued or pick up or
06:46 not, especially with that game against AC Milan coming up. I think that it might
06:50 just be a case of sort of, not resting necessarily, but just managing the minutes
06:54 and expectations. Because we're going to have to, we're going to see that over the
06:57 next few weeks. Lots of these players are going to have to have their minutes
06:59 managed. We've seen it with Callum Wilson in the past. No doubt, Trippier will
07:02 probably have to have some of his minutes sort of managed because he, you know, he
07:06 played for England. He's going to, he's played pretty much every game for Newcastle
07:10 when he's been available. So, all these players are going to be, are going to be
07:13 rotated in. Now, the good thing for Eddie Howe is that he's got, he has got a lot of
07:16 options in areas. The one place maybe he hasn't got the options he'd like would be
07:20 in centre-half and it'll be interesting to see if Bokman's fit, whether he comes
07:23 straight back in and how they sort of manage that back four because it didn't
07:26 really work against Brighton with, you know, with Target, Burn, Schär and Trippier
07:31 being there. So, I don't know what you think, but my main concern would be the
07:34 midfield and who plays in the middle of the park on Saturday.
07:38 Yeah, yeah. I think the midfield has been a big talking point since the start of
07:42 the season. We spoke after the Villa game about how good Sandro Tonali looked and
07:47 Bruno as well and Joe Linton didn't have his best game. But, yeah, that three
07:54 looked like it would be Newcastle's midfield three, strongest midfield three
07:58 and that's continued the first four games of the season. But since that Villa game,
08:02 it's just been lacking, hasn't it? Well, I think anyway, Bruno hasn't really reached
08:09 the levels we know he's capable of. Joe Linton as well. I think Tonali, as good as
08:14 he's probably been the best of the three, but as good as his debut was, just hasn't
08:18 really hit the heights of that since. So, yeah, what are you thinking of the sort of
08:25 midfield three at the moment and that midfield three in particular?
08:29 Yeah, it does look, I wouldn't say unbalanced because I think that's harsh, but I do
08:32 think there needs to be some sort of, a little bit of work on it because they've
08:36 been overrun in the last couple of games and not been able to get control, put it
08:39 that way, of that. And that's been their strength, certainly last year in that
08:43 Villa game. They have been very good in midfield and they've got very good players
08:46 in there, that's clear. So, I think anyhow, Buddy will work on it and I think maybe
08:51 that two-week break has come at the right time to sort of work on the balance of that
08:55 midfield. I like Bruno further up, but I get that he's probably the best option of
09:00 the six. So, it's really up to you. You'd probably want Bruno in all three positions
09:03 really, but if you're going to pick one, you probably want him there. I think the
09:07 big miss is Joe Willock. I don't think any fans realised, and we probably took for
09:11 granted his influence and how much Newcastle will miss Joe Willock in that
09:15 midfield. So, it'll be interesting how he gets on, what he selects in the next four
09:20 games. As I said, I'll stick my neck out and I think Sean Longstaff will feature on
09:25 Saturday and it'll probably be Bruno Longstaff and maybe Joe Linton or Tonali,
09:31 depending on the seriousness of Tonali's injury. So, that'll be my guess for his
09:34 midfield three on Saturday.
09:36 Yeah, and Sean Longstaff's a big one because I think he's not the glamorous option,
09:41 but he's a player who, when he's not in the side, like we saw away at Villa last year
09:46 and that period towards the end of the season, when he didn't start games, players
09:51 like Bruno, like Joe Linton, got a little bit more exposed and Newcastle's midfield
09:55 lacked a bit of cohesion. And, yeah, Tonali's probably viewed as the sort of
10:00 upgrade on Longstaff, if you like. But, yeah, I think he still has an important role
10:06 to play and I think Eddie Howe would echo that as well. And then, I guess, moving on
10:12 a similar topic, we discussed this earlier in the week, if you're looking at Newcastle's
10:16 strongest XI, a case could be made you have Joe Willock back in the side and then you
10:21 play Joe Linton out on the left wing. But then, at the same time, Newcastle have just
10:26 spent best part of £80 million on left wingers this year and Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.
10:32 So, looking at the team, I think the back four and the goalkeeper picks itself, but
10:36 if I'm putting to you, what's Newcastle's strongest sort of front six, if you like,
10:41 it's a tough question.
10:43 It is. I think I would go with Bruno, Tonali and Joe Linton in the middle of the park,
10:49 just because we haven't seen Willock in so long. I think once he's back in form,
10:53 then Joe Linton's position might be under threat there. I think in the front three,
10:58 now we can probably have that debate and this is a debate that's gone on social media
11:02 for as long as he's been at the club, really, but especially over the last few weeks,
11:05 Miguel Almiron maybe doesn't contribute the goals and assists he should, other than
11:09 a very good purple patch last year, but he's clearly one of Eddie Howard's favourites.
11:14 In terms of out-and-out right wingers, the club don't have any other than maybe
11:18 Jacob Murphy. Then you're looking at the shoe-honing, either Anthony Gordon that way
11:21 or Harvey Barnes, and then it gets a little bit messy. So, for me, you've got to have
11:24 Almiron there. I think he's at just edges Wilson and then you're looking at probably
11:29 Anthony Gordon because of his start. But I'm really excited to see, because we haven't
11:32 seen much of Harvey Barnes. As much as we're all excited and his performance in the
11:36 Salah Cup and Villa, we've not seen much of him since. So, I'm really excited to see
11:41 them two battling it out for that left wing position because they're great options
11:44 in there. But, yeah, for me, it'll be Gordon, Isaac and Almiron for the front three.
11:50 Yeah, I'd largely agree. I think when you spend the sort of money they've spent on
11:56 Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes, they sort of have to be in this team and the same
12:01 goes for Tonali as well. There's obvious quality there. I mean, the choice between
12:06 Barnes and Gordon, I'd probably boil down to goals. The fact Harvey Barnes has scored
12:11 14 goals since the start of last season, whereas Anthony Gordon, less than half of
12:17 that. So, in terms of figures, attack and threat, I'd probably go with Harvey Barnes.
12:23 Having said that, I do think Anthony Gordon, given it's been a fairly slow start for
12:29 Newcastle this season, I think Anthony Gordon's been one of the better players.
12:32 He was great against Villa opening day. I thought against Liverpool he was the best
12:37 player. Then he gets taken off and Newcastle fall apart. So, yeah, I think there's
12:44 certainly some positives to take from what has been a disappointing start to the season.
12:49 I don't know, looking at the opening four games, Joe, whether you have anything you've
12:55 been particularly encouraged by or particularly disappointed by in the games we've seen so far?
13:01 I don't want to be too negative. I think the one thing I've been disappointed by is
13:05 probably the defence, not the defence individuals or anything, but just the resilience of the
13:10 defence. We saw last year they kept so many clean sheets, especially at the beginning
13:13 of the season. That was what they built everything on. In fact, actually, it was really
13:17 they were struggling to score at the other end. There was a few nil-nil draws in there
13:20 which were a bit disappointing. But I mean, I think it's like two clean sheets in the
13:23 last 24 games, something like that. And that is a worry because, you know, they've built,
13:27 as I said, last year was very much built on a very good defensive record. And this year
13:30 they've conceded in every game. Obviously, three to Brighton, a couple were very, very
13:35 unforced errors as well. You know, ones that would be very disappointed by. So, I think
13:39 that it would be nice to see them fix that and get that defence shaped up again. But
13:45 does that come at the balance of losing some going forward? Because they have struggled
13:50 at times to break defences down. We saw that last year, maybe against Liverpool as well,
13:54 that, you know, when they sort of sat back, they didn't really create too many big opportunities.
13:58 So, it's going to be a tight balance to get the defensive side right and also not lose
14:02 too much going forward. That might be where, you know, fast swingers like Harvey Barnes,
14:06 Gordon, he's like that sort of, they come in the fore because maybe they can, you know,
14:10 play a bit more on the transition on the counter. So, it's a real head scratcher for Eddie
14:16 how to try and fix that. Because, as we've mentioned, games don't get any easier, especially
14:21 when you come to the Champions League. They're going to have to be solid at the back because
14:24 you concede one or two in any of them games and you're probably not winning many of them.
14:28 So, that'll be the one main concern I have from the beginning of the season is how they
14:32 get back to that defensive resilience that, you know, worked so well for them last year.
14:36 Yeah, I think my biggest sort of encouragement and concerns almost go hand in hand. I think
14:43 the encouraging thing for me, if you look at, we're talking about Newcastle's strongest
14:47 11 in the subs bench and you're looking now and it's getting to the point where the subs
14:55 are players who a year, two years ago would have been first-team starters. Callum Wilson,
15:01 excellent player, 18 goals last season, two goals already this season without starting
15:05 a game. Players like that, Harvey Barnes has been on the bench and then you look at the
15:11 new signings as well, been on the bench. I think Newcastle's squad does look a lot stronger,
15:17 but at the same time, what is a concern for me is Newcastle have spent £160 million in
15:24 the summer transfer window and not necessarily, if you include the Lewis Hall sort of obligation,
15:32 and not necessarily improved the starting 11 as such, other than Sandro Tonali. And
15:37 we've discussed this at length on a number of occasions, but now the transfer window's
15:44 closed and you're looking and you've got two strikers. Callum Wilson's been fit for the
15:50 best part of a year, but he's getting older. He does have a, you can't hide from it, he
15:55 does have a track record of injury. Alexander Assak missed a large period of last season
16:01 as well due to injury. So, there is a fragility to the squad at the same time. In certain
16:12 positions, you mentioned the right wing position, I think Newcastle missed an opportunity when
16:17 you're looking at Villa getting someone like Moussa Diaby, a long-time target for Newcastle,
16:21 who had, by all accounts, a good game at St James' Park despite the 5-1 defeat. And you're
16:27 looking at your right wing options, Miguel Almohan, Jacob Murphy, for a top four side
16:33 or a Champions League side, that for me isn't quite good enough. And then I think the big
16:38 one, you've spent the best part of £60 million on two full-backs who can't get in the side.
16:45 And for me, if you can spend £60 million elsewhere, OK, wages are a big factor, but
16:51 if you could have spent even £40 million on an attacker or a proven centre-back, because
16:59 we're looking now, Jamal Lassells is the back-up centre-back and then there's Alex Murphy,
17:04 there's not much else. And like you say, the defence, the lack of pace has been exposed
17:09 a few times and they don't look anywhere near as strong as they did during the first half
17:15 of last season. So, yeah, I have a few concerns after the transfer window in terms of the
17:23 players Newcastle have brought in. Not that I have anything against the particular players
17:29 they've brought in, just about the money they've spent and whether they're planning more for
17:34 the future than they are now. I don't think the squad is quite prepared to mount another
17:42 top-four charge while competing in the Champions League and being competitive on all four fronts,
17:48 if you like. And I think it could have been had they invested the money in a certain way.
17:53 I don't know how you feel, I've sort of rambled on a bit there, gone in circles, but yeah,
17:57 I don't know how you feel about the transfer business, Joe?
18:01 Yeah, I think it's one, if you look back on maybe two or three years' time, they might
18:04 look back and say, actually, that was a brilliant window, you know, they've got Luis Valentino
18:07 and Liver Mendo now, they could be England regulars in the future and then Newcastle
18:11 could have both England full-backs, for example, on either side. You could think Sandro Tonali
18:16 is now getting into his prime, same with Harvey Barnes, but right now, was it the window Newcastle
18:20 necessarily needed at this point? I don't know. I think if we'd finished that window,
18:25 even if we'd got someone at centre-back on loan, even if it was cover, you know, someone
18:30 like, for example, Harry Maguire, I know that all the England stuff, but someone like him
18:34 you'd think that, I actually raised Harry Maguire, but that's another conversation in
18:38 the podcast, but if we've got someone like him or someone just with a bit of either Premier
18:42 League proven as a loan option, as a sort of cover for in case people like Sven Botman
18:48 got injured, Fabian Scheer, you know, he's been really good, he doesn't always get injured,
18:54 but he always has, you know, he always picks up injuries, niggles after going in all these
18:57 tough challenges and whatnot, so I do worry about that centre-back position. I think that
19:03 one place, Newcastle went in the window needing it strengthened, and the one place they didn't,
19:07 they come out with it not strengthening it. I think the right wing is, you are right,
19:12 I think they've probably got enough cover if they do want to shift anyone across in
19:17 terms of either side, but I do worry about the centre-back slot, but overall I think
19:23 it was a solid window, I think they have spent a lot of money in the, sort of, solidifying
19:27 their future, they have got a lot of options for the future, it's just, you know, they've
19:32 got a lot of times run by Financial Fair Play and they've probably done the best they can
19:35 with that, and it's a shame that Newcastle, who have got all this money, with the owners
19:39 who want to put it in the right place, who have qualified for the Champions League, can't
19:43 spend this money, you know, because of Financial Fair Play reasons, and other teams like Chelsea
19:50 and all that can't do that because of their history, so it's a frustrating one, and it's
19:54 one that Newcastle hopefully in a few years' time won't have to worry too much about it,
19:59 but, as you say, that all depends on them re-qualifying for the Champions League, or
20:04 qualifying for Europe on a season-by-season basis, and to do that you've got to have the
20:08 squad that competes, so it's a really fine balance, I would probably say that just, I
20:13 would give the window maybe an 8 out of 10, I think that centre-back really would have
20:17 pushed it up, but overall it will probably be one where in two or three years' time we'll
20:21 revisit, and I do think they'll go 'actually that was a really good window'.
20:26 Yeah, I've gone on the record saying I think it's been a good window, I wouldn't maybe
20:31 go quite as high as an 8, but maybe with the caveat of in a few years' time if Tino Livermanto
20:37 and Lewis Hall can establish themselves in the side, then yeah, it has been a good window,
20:45 I just think, could Newcastle afford to spend £60 million on two players who, let's be
20:52 honest, do lack a bit of Premier League experience, okay, they're young and English, loads of
20:57 potential, but they don't walk into the team, the left-back position is still an area for
21:03 contention, Dan Burns still starting there, or Matt Torgat's coming in, and then does
21:09 he drop down the pecking order with Lewis Hall coming in, there's all sorts of questions
21:13 that will be answered over the next season or so, but yeah, I think there's a few sort
21:19 of caveats to Newcastle's transfer window, to whether it's actually been a very good
21:24 window or just a decent one for me. But moving on, the transfer window is dead and buried,
21:32 until January at least, looking ahead, we've discussed Brentford briefly, but after that
21:39 it's the big one really, the return to Champions League football, AC Milan at the San Siro
21:45 on Tuesday night. Joe, it's a stupid question, are you looking forward to that one?
21:50 I am very looking forward to that, Dom, I think it's the perfect draw, we're watching
21:56 the Champions League draw at the end of last month, when you see AC Milan, PSG and Dortmund
22:03 come out, you just think that would be fantastic for Newcastle to have got that group, and
22:07 then to be drawn in that group, to kick off them at the San Siro, would I have preferred
22:11 to be at St James' Park? Probably, I think, I just want to hear that Champions League
22:15 anthem at St James' Park, just from a selfish point of view, but I'll wait a couple more
22:18 weeks, but I think it's a brilliant match, isn't it, and it's one that's going to be
22:23 the very best of Newcastle United in Europe, and it's an iconic club, and a team, and a
22:28 club that, yes, seven-time European champions, but I'm not going to say they're beatable,
22:33 I'm not going to go and say we're going to go strut at the San Siro and win 3-4-0, but
22:37 they definitely have weaknesses, and it's definitely a team that Newcastle will feel
22:40 they can get points at, it's going to be tricky, it's going to be a test for Eddie
22:43 Howe, as well as the team, you know, there's not many people in there with Champions League
22:47 experience, but it's going to be a fantastic occasion, I'm really looking forward to it
22:50 on Tuesday.
22:51 Yeah, I think Newcastle go into the game as underdogs, but AC Milan are probably viewed
22:57 as, of the three teams that have been drawn against, the most beatable, given PSG, a super
23:03 club, the type of club Newcastle would probably aspire to be like in the next five, ten years,
23:08 and then Borussia Dortmund have been sort of European heavyweights for the best part
23:12 of the last decade as well, so, yeah, it's going to be tough, but I think the San Siro,
23:17 like Newcastle have been there before, but it's going to be a big one, it's going to
23:23 be fun, but I guess there's, it's a tricky argument because it's, as a fan, these are
23:30 great, great clubs to play against, but from a competitive point of view, do you think
23:37 Newcastle can get out of this group?
23:39 Because it's a dream group, if you're sort of a tourist, if you're to go to these grounds
23:45 and play these teams, and you'll certainly feel like you're in the Champions League,
23:49 opposed to maybe getting some of the lesser teams, say you've got a Feyenoord, a Benfica
23:54 and a Copenhagen or something like that, that group wouldn't feel quite the same, but, yeah,
24:02 it's a difficult balance, isn't it Joe, between competitiveness and actually wanting to enjoy
24:06 it and being in the Champions League?
24:08 I've always thought that Newcastle have got a good chance purely because they've got to
24:12 play three games at home, I think that if they can get a couple of wins from them, and
24:17 maybe nick a win away, or at least put up a good fight away from home, they've got every
24:22 chance of qualifying, I think no team will want to come to Newcastle, I don't believe,
24:26 especially in these three games, maybe in a few years in the future when it becomes a
24:30 norm, hopefully the Champions League, but these Champions League nights are going to
24:33 be special at St James, and I think that it's going to be mad to see the PSG, especially
24:38 PSG, I think Dortmund, AC Milan are obviously massive clubs and they're used to playing
24:43 in really high-end atmospheres, but I think PSG, with the way they've been in the Champions
24:48 League recently, you do feel that if you can get at them and you can get the crowd up,
24:53 that they are not prone to crumbling, because again, I'm not going to say we're going
24:57 to beat PSG 5-0 here, but I'm going to say that the crowd can really lift Newcastle and
25:02 maybe disturb PSG, so I do think seeing St James as part of this will be a massive factor,
25:08 I think it will be really interesting how they approach the AC Milan game. I think one
25:12 criticism, Mardy, how you could say is that it often maybe gives the so-called bigger
25:17 teams a bit too much respect away from home, we've seen it, we mentioned it after City
25:21 away earlier in the season, we believe that Newcastle probably gave them a little bit
25:26 too much respect and didn't go at them enough, so it will be interesting to see how they
25:29 approach that game, whether they go and play a bit cagey or whether they go and just full
25:34 of confidence and just try and stamp their authority on that game, but I do think there's
25:39 a chance of getting out of the group and then if they don't finish in the top two, if they
25:44 do finish the drop down in the Europa League, they've got every chance of going far in that
25:49 competition as well if that happens, so I think whatever happens, I do believe Newcastle
25:53 will be playing European football, some sort of European football after Christmas, that's
25:58 my prediction. I'm not going to go out and say whether it's Champions League or Europa
26:01 League, but they'll definitely still be in European competition next year.
26:05 Yeah, I think it's a really tough group, I think what you've touched on it there, the
26:12 sort of group of death titles that it's been given, a big part of that is Newcastle were
26:17 the pot-full team no-one really wanted, I mean you don't want to big Newcastle up too
26:22 much, but a Premier League team being in pot-full is fairly unheard of, I can't remember
26:28 the last time a Premier League team was in pot-full, I'm not sure, so it's sort of Newcastle
26:38 away, like you say, Premier League opposition, Newcastle squad will probably be more expensive
26:45 or more expensive in terms of transfer fees paid than certainly AC Milan and probably
26:55 Dortmund as well, almost definitely not PSG, so you're looking at squad value, it's probably
27:01 the second most, whether they can translate that on the pitch and be competitive in the
27:05 group is another question, it's a new experience for the club and I think AC Milan's an interesting
27:12 one because there's been a bit of, I wouldn't say rivalry between AC Milan and Newcastle,
27:19 but there's been some interesting transfer stories the past two summer windows where
27:23 Sven Bottmann looks set to go to AC Milan, then U-turn goes to Newcastle and then the
27:30 Sandro Tonali saga in the summer as well, so there's a few interesting stories there,
27:36 I'll be interested to see if Sandro Tonali is fit to play against Milan, what sort of
27:41 reception he gets because very well-liked player at Milan and hopefully he gets a good
27:49 reception, even though the Italian media when he did leave were quick to say he didn't want
27:55 to leave and he was crying and things like that, those allegations have since been massively
28:01 downplayed by Eddie Howe, by the player's agent and things like that, so hopefully he
28:06 gets a good reception and puts in a good performance and is back available for that game at the
28:11 San Siro, if not, sooner against Brentford on Saturday and me and Joel will be at the
28:16 game at Brentford on Saturday, I'll be back at Eddie Howe's press conference on Friday
28:23 to see how things are shaping up, getting all the injury news and team news heading into
28:28 that and then we'll both be jetting off to Milan next week, so big games to look forward
28:33 to, nice to have club football back after the international break and we'll have all
28:38 the latest Newcastle United team news, rumours, whatever, over on the Shields Gazette website
28:47 so you can sign up for our latest newsletter and have all that delivered straight to your
28:52 inbox, just visit shieldsgazette.com/newsletter for more information on that, you can also
28:59 check out later this week our latest exclusive video feature, Newcastle United's road to
29:06 Europe over on Shots TV, if you're on the Shields Gazette website it'll be in the top
29:12 right hand corner of your page, you can watch that so check that out, but for now, thank
29:18 you everyone for joining us and watching the Mouth of the Time podcast, thanks Joe as ever
29:24 for joining me and we'll see you all next time, cheers.
29:27 Cheers.
29:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]